A customer emails an order with product numbers and quantities. The salesperson checks prices and stock availability, answers a few questions, and then enters the order into the ERP system. The following week, the same customer calls to ask when the delivery will arrive. And the next month, they order more or less the same products again.
This is still everyday reality for many B2B companies. And it isn't necessarily a bad way of working. The problem arises when the number of customers and orders grows, and sales teams spend more and more time on tasks that don't really require their expertise.
This is often where the need for digital B2B sales begins. Not with the ambition to replace salespeople, but with a simple question: Which parts of the buying process could customers actually manage themselves?
In traditional B2B sales, the salesperson is often involved in almost every step of the ordering process. Customers may need to confirm their prices, check whether a product is in stock, or get help finding the correct product number before placing an order.
One such question doesn't take particularly long to answer. But when many customers contact the company every day with similar questions, the administrative workload quickly adds up. The same information is exchanged through email, phone calls, and Excel spreadsheets, while orders must be entered manually into the ERP system.
The challenge isn't just the time involved. When information is transferred manually between people and systems, the risk of errors also increases. A product number is entered incorrectly, an order line is missed, or a customer receives an outdated price. For customers, it also means that relatively simple tasks can depend on whether the right person is available and has time to respond.
A digital B2B sales channel changes this process. Customers log in and access information relevant to their specific company. They can find their products, see their agreed prices and terms, check stock availability, and place orders without contacting a salesperson first.
For customers who regularly purchase the same products, the difference can be significant. Instead of searching for an old order, writing an email, and waiting for confirmation, they can simply view their order history and place a new order directly.
It also means that purchasing no longer has to follow the sales department's opening hours. Customers can find information or place orders whenever it suits their business, whether that's early in the morning, late in the evening, or between other tasks.
Want to learn more about how self-service works in practice? Read our guide to B2B customer portals.
Furhoffs Rostfria is an example of a B2B company that has developed its digital customer experience together with Toxic, using the Litium platform. The solution is connected to the company's existing systems and designed to make it easier for customers to find information and manage their needs digitally.
Read more about Furhoffs and the solution on Toxic's website.
This is one of the key differences between B2B commerce and a typical consumer webshop. Two business customers may purchase exactly the same product but have completely different prices, agreements, or product assortments.
One distributor may have access to a specific product range and price list. Another customer may have negotiated individual prices. At a larger company, several employees may use the same customer account, but with different roles and permissions.
That's why simply publishing a company's products on a website isn't enough. When customers log in, the digital solution needs to understand who they are and which conditions apply to them.
This could mean displaying the right prices, the right products, previous orders, and relevant documentation. Customers shouldn't need to understand all the complexity behind the scenes. Buying the right products should simply be easy.
For a closer look at this topic, read our article on how customer-specific pricing works in B2B e-commerce.
A common question is whether the digital commerce platform replaces the ERP system. For most B2B companies, the answer is no.
The ERP system typically continues to manage customers, orders, prices, stock levels, invoicing, and deliveries. The digital sales channel uses information from the ERP system to make it accessible to customers.
For example, a negotiated price already stored in the ERP system can be displayed to the right customer when they log in to the webshop. When the customer places an order, it can be transferred back into the ERP system without a salesperson having to enter it again.
This way, the digital platform doesn't become yet another separate system where the same information needs to be maintained. Instead, it becomes a channel through which customers can access and use information and processes that already exist within the business.
Read more about how ERP and B2B e-commerce can work together.
For companies with large product ranges, multiple variants, or spare parts, placing an order is only one part of the customer's journey. First, they need to find the right product.
This may require information about dimensions, materials, compatibility, technical specifications, accessories, spare parts, manuals, or certificates. If this information isn't available digitally, customers often need to contact a salesperson or product specialist, even for relatively simple questions.
This is where a PIM system can complement the ERP system by structuring and enriching product information. The digital platform can then combine information from multiple systems and present it in a way that helps customers find, understand, and purchase the right products.
From the customer's perspective, it matters less which system the information comes from. What matters is that it's accurate and easy to find.
We've also written a more detailed article on how PIM, ERP, and e-commerce can be integrated.
Allowing customers to place orders themselves doesn't make salespeople less important. But it can change their role.
A customer may be happy to place recurring standard orders digitally while still wanting to speak with their account manager about a larger project, a new product, or a more complex solution. These different ways of buying don't have to compete with each other.
When salespeople spend less time answering stock availability questions, finding previous orders, or entering repeat purchases, they can spend more time on advice, customer relationships, and new business opportunities.
Digital sales then become a complement to personal selling, rather than a replacement.
There is no specific order volume at which a company suddenly needs to introduce e-commerce. Often, the need becomes apparent in everyday operations long before that.
Perhaps salespeople spend a lot of time entering orders that look almost identical every time. Customers frequently call to ask about prices, products, or deliveries. Product information is shared manually, and the same questions keep coming up.
Another sign may be that the company wants to grow without every new customer adding more administrative work.
In these situations, it can be valuable to explore which parts of the customer journey could be digitalised. That doesn't mean everything has to change at once. For many B2B companies, it makes more sense to start where the benefits are most obvious and then develop their digital business step by step.
Perhaps the biggest change brought by digital B2B sales isn't the webshop itself. It's that customers no longer need to go through a person for every simple step in the buying process.
They can find information, view their terms, check previous orders, and place new ones themselves. At the same time, the sales organisation can focus on the parts of the business where human expertise makes the biggest difference.
For many companies, that's exactly where the value lies: making simple things simpler, without losing the personal touch.
Once you've identified which parts of the customer journey you want to digitalise, the next question is which solution best fits your business. Read more about how to choose the right B2B e-commerce platform.
Litium is a digital B2B commerce platform that helps manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors create digital customer experiences where commerce, product information, and existing business systems work together.
Read more about Furhoff on Toxic page: https://www.toxic.se/kundcase/furhoffs-rostfria/
Do you want to know how it would work for you company? Don't hesitate to contact us or book a demo so we can show what it can look like.